Several reportedly shot near Alabama’s Auburn University

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Auburn Police cordon off the scene at University Heights apartment complex on West Longleaf Drive, early Sunday in Auburn, Alabama. Auburn's Police Chief Tommy Dawson says several people have been shot at an apartment complex in the city.ASSOCIATED PRESSEnlarge

AUBURN, Ala. — Several people were shot at an apartment complex near Auburn University in Alabama when a fight broke out during a pool party, authorities and a witness said.

Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson told the Opelika-Auburn News that police were called Saturday night. He did not say who was shot or discuss their conditions.

Turquorius Vines, 23, said he was at the pool party Saturday evening at the University Heights apartments with one of his friends. He said he and his friend were approached by two other men who started arguing with them over a woman.

Vines said he punched one of the men, while his friend hit both of the men over the head with a bottle. Either one or both of the two men then started shooting, he said. He said his friend was shot and killed, while two others also were hit by gunfire. Vines said he had never before seen the men who he had been arguing with.

“It’s like I lost a lung,” Vines said of his friend. “I don’t know how I’m going to survive this.”

Several emergency vehicles had converged overnight around the University Heights apartment complex where reports indicated a number of students who attend Auburn University typically reside. The building was swathed in yellow police tape.

It appeared that the shooting happened in an archway near the apartment complex information center, near the edge of the parking lot. Five uniformed officers guarded the area, which was sealed off with crime scene tape, and a handful of crime scene investigators were at work.

After daybreak Sunday, several uniformed officers stood near a disaster relief trailer parked at the building’s entrance, which appeared to be a sort of command center. Some bystanders milled about, looking on at the scene.

An Auburn police dispatcher contacted by The Associated Press said early Sunday she had no immediate information. Police did not immediately return repeated telephone messages seeking comment. Local coroner’s officials also said they had no immediate comment.

Auburn University campus police said they had no information and referred calls to city police.

Vasha Hunt, a photographer with the Opelika-Auburn News, was at the apartment complex hours earlier and told the AP by telephone before dawn that authorities had set up a white tent there where there was a lot of activity. He said police kept a number of bystanders back for hours away from the scene.

Hunt said at least some of those who initially gathered outside appeared to be residents waiting for permission to enter their apartments.

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